The full story...

Refugee hunger striker evacuated from Nauru

MARK COLVIN: Late this afternoon, an Iranian refugee who's been on a hunger strike for 50 days in detention on Nauru has been evacuated to an undisclosed hospital on the Australian mainland.

It's understood that in the last 48 hours at least one refugee has attempted suicide, and 18 others remain on hunger strike.

Refugee advocate Ian Rintoul spoke to Alison McClymont a short time ago.

IAN RINTOUL: In the last 48 hours there's just been a series of self-harms, attempted suicides, just pandemonium. The thing is in meltdown. There've been scuffles between Wilson Security and asylum seekers, between asylum seekers and Salvation Army workers and, you know, an endless stream of self-harm attempts.

People have removed, asylum seekers have been removed from the detection centre. Five of them were still being held somewhere outside of the detention centre. There are accusations that people have been taken out of the detention centre, have been beaten by Wilson Security guards.

Yesterday afternoon I got a call that said that one of the people who had cut himself had actually been beaten by the Wilson Security guards in the process of being dragged out of the detention centre.

So the place just sounds like it's you know totally in total meltdown.

ALISON MCCLYMONT: And can you tell me the current condition. What is happening with Omid? He's been on a hunger strike for 50 days, is it?

IAN RINTOUL: Fifty days today, yes. We haven't been able to get any direct information for the last 24 hours about Omid and his condition. We were able to get only enough information that he was still alive; that's about 36 hours ago.

But I can tell you that this afternoon, at the very moment actually, Omid is in an ambulance and is going to be put into a plane and flown to Australia.

Besides Omid there are 18 others. Another man is on his 30th day of hunger strike and the others are between, you know, sort of between eight and 13 days on hunger strike.

But at the moment the people are joining the hunger strike. In the last couple of days other people have joined the hunger strike. So I don't know the exact numbers except for those 18 that have been on hunger strike for, you know, sort of 13 days and more.

MARK COLVIN: That was Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition.

An Immigration Department spokesperson confirmed that Nauru police are currently investigating several incidents at the detention centre this week.